Stupid Ninjas is a casual game made by the same developers of Stupid Zombies, GameResort. Stupid Ninjas is very much in the same vein as Stupid Zombies, but instead of aiming a gun with your finger, you’re aiming and swiping at the same time, hoping the throwing star goes in the (more or less) right direction.

These casual games are great for mobile gaming; you can take out your phone, play a level that’s tricky and makes you think, then put it away minutes later. Some of these games, however, don’t quite have the addictive flavoring that makes you forget you’re waiting in line, and Stupid Ninjas falls victim to this stagnant taste.

The general idea of Stupid Ninjas is to swipe through one of the ninjas with the allotted number of swipes, and hit the remained ninjas with the throwing stars that are spawned by the rest of the ninjas on the screen. So, swiping through the first ninja will shoot a throwing star in the direction of your swipe, and if you hit another ninja, that ninja will spawn three extra throwing stars to hit the rest of the ninjas on the screen.

To add some replayability, thoughtfulness, and difficulty, Stupid Ninjas has stars in the level that you can hit with extra throwing stars for bonus points, and rocks, magnets, wind, and other obstacles that you have to aim around or use to curve the throwing stars.

I had a few problems with the exactness of the levels, and the inexactness of the menu screens. Where Stupid Zombies lets you take your time and aim your bullets precisely, Stupid Ninjas’ swipe-aim method is inaccurate enough to be frustrating, and the sheer number of angles possible to swipe from can make some levels daunting for casual gamers. You may be swiping through the right ninja, just not at the right angle; or you may be swiping at the wrong ninja, the wrong angle, or just be the smallest degree off and miss the curved rock you need to hit.

All these possibilities, coupled with the fact the retry screen shows up a little too slow and the retry button sometimes doesn’t register, can lead to a trying experience for gamers. Stupid Ninjas also gives you three hints for free, but you’ll have to pay for any extra hints (I needed more before the first chapter was finished), and I could never get the website to load to buy more hints.

While I like Stupid Zombies a good bit and Stupid Ninjas has a very similar objective, it doesn’t quite have the same addictive feel or the fresh factor that can set it apart. Following in the footsteps (read: copying) of other mobile games is nothing new, and, as in most cases, the spinoff is never quite as good as the original.

Stupid Ninjas may not be the most original or addictive game, but it does have the same solid mechanics and feel of Stupid Zombies. If you like polished, gory graphics, multiple levels, replayability, throwing stars, and ninjas, Stupid Ninjas will give you good, free entertainment for hours.